Bicycles Network Australia » Magellanhttp://www.bicycles.net.au
The Top Australian Cycling PortalTue, 28 Jul 2015 23:21:05 +0000en-UShourly1New Top Model Garmin GPS Cycle Computer: Edge 1000http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/04/top-model-garmin-gps-cycle-computer-edge-1000/
http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/04/top-model-garmin-gps-cycle-computer-edge-1000/#commentsFri, 11 Apr 2014 11:48:49 +0000http://www.bicycles.net.au/?p=10374Garmin Australia have just announced the new Edge 1000 which now takes top spot in their GPS Cycling Computer lineup. While the unit appears larger, the exact size of the unit has not been revealed. The touchscreen is 3 inches (7.7cm) diagonal and has a light sensor to adjust brightness to the light conditions plus the unit can be orientated both horizontally as well as vertically.

The key features of the unit include performance / training competitive features with advanced segmentation to “reach your goals”. Social media connectability is featured with incoming phone call alerts (i.e. smart phone pairing), LiveTrack where friends and family can following your racing or training performance in realtime and uploading rides to social media platforms or to Garmin Connect.

The Garmin Edge 1000 comes preloaded with maps and Points of Interest (POIs) and navigation functionality with turn-by-turn directions although no information is available regarding Australian map. (The product announcement from Garmin Australia references the US press release).

The unit is ANT+ compatible and a premium version comes with Heart Rate Monitor (HRM3) and Speed / Cadence sensors included and allows tracking when GPS is not available plus the sensors are easier to swap between bikes. Shimano Di2 Compatibility has been announced though no information on power meter compatibility has been share except for the obligatory Garmin Vector compatibility. Battery life us ‘up to’ 15 hours.

The US RRP of the Garmin Edge 1000 is $599.99 and for the version with the HRM and speed / cadence sensors, US $699.99. Australian pricing hasn’t been revealed and the availability is announced for Spring 2014 (USA) which is between now and June in Australia – though will be possibly later.

edit: corrected diagonal, from diameter

]]>http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/04/top-model-garmin-gps-cycle-computer-edge-1000/feed/2Challenge Accepted: Magellan Cyclo 505 GPS Computerhttp://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/04/challenge-accepted-magellan-cyclo-505-gps-computer/
http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/04/challenge-accepted-magellan-cyclo-505-gps-computer/#commentsWed, 09 Apr 2014 00:19:01 +0000http://www.bicycles.net.au/?p=10309Though Magellan is a household name in GPS navigation, Garmin have totally dominated the GPS cycle computer market; they’re the default choice for those on two wheels. This makes it hard for any competitor, and the release of Magellan’s Cyclo 500 series was delayed in Australia as the product’s features were fine-tuned to give them the edge over the Garmin Edge.

Let’s lay it all out on the table at the start: the $399 Magellan Cyclo 505 is in direct competition with the $499 Garmin Edge 810. That’s enough of a price difference to make anyone pay attention, but it’s not the whole story. For $200 extra, you can upgrade your Garmin to include maps in the “navigation bundle”. For $0 extra dollars you’ll get your Magellan with local cycling maps courtesy of the Bicycling Australia “Where to Ride” series. That’s right, cycle specific maps at no extra charge. I almost feel that I can finish the review with that.

The “out front” mount position is out of the way while providing good screen readbility

The Cyclo mount is similar though not identical to the Garmin mount

In the box, the Cyclo 505, power cable, USB cable, out front mount and alternative stem/bar mount

Comparing the two units side by side reveal that there is a lot in favor of the Cyclo 505. Both units are attractive with rounded edges, and they mount nicely in front of the handlebars. The Magellan unit is slightly thinner but taller and wider with a larger touch screen. The penalty is an extra 30 grams; it weighs in at 129 grams. The Cyclo 505 takes another penalty in battery life with 12 hours run-time compared with 17 hours for the Garmin Edge 810, but it makes up for this with modern features such as Low Energy Bluetooth and simplified data sharing.

A noticeable difference between the units is that the Magellan device eliminates the microSD card slot, and rather comes with 4GB onboard memory. This makes sense as the unit allows automatic data synchronisation with your online account. It means the process of uploading the data is easy, including automated uploading to Strava.

Just a USB port, though you can rely on Wifi alone for data transfer

With the Cyclo you can manage ride data either on the device itself or online in the MagellanCyclo dashboard. Using a mac, it took me a little time to understand the setup process and connect the WiFi sharing and required the installation of a plugin that was only Safari compatible on the Apple mac, but once that was complete, it was straight forward to use. The online dashboard is quite simple, you can view your rides (maps with time, altitude, and speed), averages, and also search for and load tracks into your unit.

Magellan Cyclo Portal Dashboard

Viewing a ride with map data with time, speed and elevation

Magellan have really tried to differentiate themselves from Garmin and set a benchmark in the mapping capabilities for cyclists. The Cyclo 505 includes a number of options around this: the ‘standard’ navigation option will guide you to a destination or “point of interest; the workout option lets you set one parameter such as distance, time, calories, HR Zone, or Power Zone, and a cycle route is then calculated to suit; the Surprise Me function is touted as a highlight that will create a few routes to chose from and perhaps take you somewhere completely new.

The full colour touchscreen navigation is fairly intuitive

The display can be customised as you wish to display your preferred cycling data.

The options in “Workout” make it easy to create a training route to suit your requirements

My training routes are fairly conservative, some of Sydney’s best road riding is virtually on my doorstep which meant that it was a leap of faith to then let this little device tell me where to go. There is nothing more off-putting than a beep noise on the lead-up to and through each and every intersection or each and every turn to tell me to look at the screen. It is just as annoying when the screen dims and you have to then concentrate on the device, rather than the road, to press the button to ‘wake it up’. Both of these distractions are thankfully easily resolved inside the settings, and a passive device was more to my liking.

I used the device just for road cycling, although the profile can be set for mountain biking, city riding, and even for driving a car, which affects the routes. Even with “Road Cycling” selected and options allowing “major roads” and “cycle routes”, I found the route selection unusual at times. For example the device tried to guide me through back streets even when there was a good bike lane on the main road. After a few rides where I followed the recommended route I started to ignore the suggested route while cycling in familiar territory as it seemed to lack the human touch. This is where the “Where to Ride” or OSM mapping then have advantages as they are tried and tested cycling routes rather than a computerised calculation.

My list of “niggles” with the Cyclo is small. There were a few occasions where it took some time to find satellites after I turned the unit on and just wanted to ride. Plus if you want to cycle without selecting a predefined route and click the record button to start recording, it is curious that a double-confirmation is necessary; “You clicked start record, so should I start recording? Yes or No?” Of course!

As a navigation device, the Cyclo 505 will confidently guide you

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact type of rider that the Cyclo 505 suits. Even after speaking in depth with Magellan and other cyclists, I feel that the answer is that it suits different riders in different capacities. It has the power to serve a performance cyclist who needs data display from a power meter and sensors, plus logging, though to the recreational cyclist exploring new areas both on and off road – it covers a broad spectrum.

On price alone, the Cyclo 505 is seriously competitive against the Garmin Edge 810 and for the majority of cyclists it has all of the required functionality. The Garmin still retains its ‘performance equipment’ appeal and will be hard to topple after dominating so long. The Magellan builds upon a good reputation with a solid and competitively priced unit, a fully functional GPS cycle computing that is accessible to an even broader cycling audience.

Postscript: The key differences between the Cyclo 500 (RRP $379) and Cyclo 505 ($399) are that the 500 unit doesn’t have ANT+ compatibility, the ‘Shake and Share’ function to share routes between units, and the handlebar mount. The Cyclo 505 is also getting a firmware update will will add more features into the device.

The free firmware update is due out at the end of April and Magellan have listed the new features:• iPhone and Android (Bluetooth 4.0) compatibility to see incoming phone calls and also text messages.
• Music control through the Cyclo 500 series for the smart phone
• Shimano Di2 compatible – view current gear, battery status and post ride analysis
• Indoor Trainer Control for Elite Digital Qubo, Tacx Bushido and Genius to control resistence
• Compatibility with more power meters: Quarq, SRM, Cyclop’s and Stages
• Via Android smartphone, spoken (voice) navigation
• Emergency “Where am I” sends a text message over Androis with exact Latitude and Longitude location

]]>http://www.bicycles.net.au/2014/04/challenge-accepted-magellan-cyclo-505-gps-computer/feed/9i-gotU GPS GT-820 Pro Bike & Travel Computerhttp://www.bicycles.net.au/2013/11/i-gotu-gps-gt-820-pro-bike-travel-computer/
http://www.bicycles.net.au/2013/11/i-gotu-gps-gt-820-pro-bike-travel-computer/#commentsTue, 05 Nov 2013 00:55:04 +0000http://www.bicycles.net.au/?p=9330I’ve been eagerly waiting for gps enabled bike computers to be produced by “other” manufacturers. While the big boys in the industry, like Garmin and Polar, do a stellar job, the quality comes at a premium. Lack of competition on price and features often leads to stagnation or, at least, delays in innovation since there is an almost monopoly on the market. But you’re not reading this review for an economics lecture, you want to read about a gps enabled bike computer that’s in competition with the Garmin 500 and 510. It’s the i-gotU GT-820 Pro from Chinese company Mobile Action.

The i-gotU came professionally packaged and the version I reviewed also had a heart rate monitor included. The company produce a speed/cadence sensor as well, but I didn’t get a chance to play with one for this review. The package also included a bike mount, a USB micro cable, some zip ties and a small CD with, I presumed, some software and possibly a manual on it – there was no paper manual. I don’t have an optical drive on my computer (they’re so 2005), so I had to find a computer with one on it; the manual was indeed on the disk, in a variety of languages, in .chm format! There is also a series of online FAQs, but finding links to them is quite difficult. If I didn’t receive the link from manufacturer, Mobile Action, I would never have found them.

After all of the initial fuss, I came across some more fuss. The manual was not very well written and my computer couldn’t recognise the device when attached. Apparently I had to install a special driver and some special software to use it, but since I don’t use a Windows PC, I was out of luck. It took some considerable jiggery-pokery to get to the device – a lot more work than I want to do to get to a data file. The i-gotU uses its own proprietary file format, but at least you can (eventually) get a .gpx version which is the standard when it comes to GPS data. Online services such as Strava won’t recognise this device, but at least you can get the file to upload. The i-gotU has a website that will apparently interface with the device, but I don’t have the driver to make it work, and it’s not Strava.

The device itself operates reasonably well for the basic functions: turn it on, select cycling (as opposed to running) and you’re presented with a basic speed and distance screen. Finding satellites is super quick, and if you’ve ever sat on your bike doing the waiting dance (if you have a Garmin 500, you’ll know what I mean), then you’ll appreciate this. The i-gotU will display the speed and distance as accurately as any other GPS device, but apart from that there is little to recommend it.

The i-gotU is difficult to use on the road. There are three buttons, one on the left and two on the right, and the behaviour of these buttons is fairly intuitive to navigate up and down menus and select an option. The problem is that there are lots of options available and no real explanation of how to use them all. Getting to the screen you want is often tricky and the most useful screens are not a single press away. Mobile Action would have been better off putting some text on the face plate, much like the Garmin has, to guide you through the process, and they should have cut down on a lot of the options available with such a basic user interface. It’s simply too hard to use or keep in your memory unless you use it all of the time.

The worst part of the i-gotU experience was the size of the screen. As you can see from the photos, the screen is about half the area of the Garmin 500 screen despite the unit being about the same size and weight. The screen is actually square and one of the “features” of the device is that the screen can be rotated. This is fairly useless, however, since the mount for the device simply can’t be mounted sideways easily. My first ride with the i-gotU registered as 03 km; the Garmin correctly registered it as 103 km. Yes, the screen is so small that only two digit distances are displayed.

There were many other “quirky” little things with the i-gotU which I won’t go into here lest I ramble on for pages. The only thing that worked as expected straight out of the box was the heart rate monitor. It looks very much like the Garmin premium HR strap that I’m used to using and it works well with the i-gotU device. Since it also uses Bluetooth Low Energy for wireless data connection and transfer, the heart rate monitor is also picked up by my mobile phone and, honestly, I would rather use the phone than the i-gotU device. I think it will be far more effective to get the speed/cadence sensor to pair with the HR monitor and use a phone app – it will be better than the i-gotU in all but battery life, unfortunately.

The i-gotU GT-820 Pro was a disappointment. It could have been much, much better. If it was just the small screen, I could live with that, provided I could get easy access to the data on the device, but that wasn’t the case. If it were just a problem with the user interface, I could live with that as well. Actually, I could live with most of the individual “faults” of the i-gotU, but not when taken all together and not when the device is priced close to a second hand Garmin 500. The extra I would be prepared to spend on a better device is worth it in frustration savings alone. Your mileage may vary.

]]>http://www.bicycles.net.au/2013/11/i-gotu-gps-gt-820-pro-bike-travel-computer/feed/0Magellan launch Australian Cycling Computer – Cyclo 500 Serieshttp://www.bicycles.net.au/2013/09/magellan-launch-australian-cycling-computer-cyclo-500-series/
http://www.bicycles.net.au/2013/09/magellan-launch-australian-cycling-computer-cyclo-500-series/#commentsWed, 25 Sep 2013 11:33:52 +0000http://www.bicycles.net.au/?p=9176In the world of GPS cycling computers, Garmin have dominated the market. According to Magellan brand manager, Paris Basson, with the launch of the new Cyclo 500 Series today in Sydney, this will change.

Overlooking the Opera House, Magellan launched the Cyclo 500 series for cyclists which includes three versions: the Cyclo 500, Cyclo 505 (with ANT+), and Cyclo 505HC (with heart rate monitor and cadence and speed sensor). As you would expect from a modern cycle computer, you get a full colour touch screen device with cycle computer and GPS functionality and the ability to save and share ride data, for example with Strava.

While these are the essentials in creating product to compete with the Garmin Edge, in the effort to differentiate and even lead, a standout feature of the Cyclo 500 series is localised Australian cycling maps. On top of Australian street map information, the Cyclo 500 series has bike map information from Bicycling Australia (Where to Ride series) as well as cycle route and cycling path data from governments which will provide cyclists with better routes and mapping. With this cyclist friendly mapping, Magellan aim to open up their audience beyond performance orientated cyclists to also appeal to mountain bikers and recreational cyclists and touring cyclists who can benefit from having this relevant mapping and routing ability.

Additional features include Wifi Sync so that map data can be automatically uploaded at the touch of a button; the ride data can be automatically shared with preferred services. Rides can also be shared with riding buddies by shaking the device; when your riding partner shakes their Cyclo 500 device the units can ‘pair’ and map data shared. Basson was also quick to point out forward compatibility with the integration of BLE – Blue Tooth Low Energy which, as the name suggests, allows for low energy data transfer.

The GPS cycle computers will be available in November 2013 and priced at $379 for the Cyclo 500, $399 for the Cyclo 505 (with ANT+) and the Cyclo 505HC with heart rate monitor and cadence/speed sensor kit for $479. Further details will be available on www.magellangps.com.au

A new runners product called the Echo was also released and, at first glance, is less suited to cycling. The Echo is a watch like device worn on the wrist that is basically a receiver for smart phone apps. There are a number of apps that can be easily paired and will send customised data to the watch.

While a wrist watch device would generally not appeal to a cyclist who is after a handlebar or stem mounted cycling computer, many cyclists carry a smart phone anyway so the Echo provides functionality that would be very useful for cyclists – imagine the potential of using your favorite GPS and training app on the smart phone and sending the crucial data to a simple and compact handlebar mounted display; the smart phone does the hard work. I would love to see this as a entry level type GPS cycle computer for runners. The wrist watch Echo is priced at $140 (or $199 for the BLE HRM version).